Parents' Guide to

Adventureland

By S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Fairly thoughtful romcom masquerades as a raunchy indie.

Movie R 2009 107 minutes
Adventureland Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 15+

Based on 12 parent reviews

King Gerald
King Gerald Adult
July 13, 2020
age 14+

Should have been rated PG-13

This film is rated R on the basis of having marijuana use and more than one F-word. Marijuana should be judged differently than other drugs, and the number of times that the F-word is used is far less important than the overall theme of the film. This is a relatively innocent romantic comedy, unlike "Superbad".

This title has:

Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
dvdgirl
dvdgirl Adult
August 30, 2019
age 12+

I thought it was good and cute

And I like the fact that there in the eighties all the eighties music I enjoy movies where it’s set in a different era movies like that I enjoy. This was a good movie so was the squid and the whale.

This title has:

Great messages
See all 12 parent reviews

What's the Story?

With his dreams of backpacking in Europe -- and maybe even grad school -- quashed by his family's financial woes, James (Jesse Eisenberg), a virgin pothead, is forced to work at the Adventureland amusement park during the summer of 1987. At first, the job is mind-numbing, the bosses (Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader) inane, and the customers oddly aggressive. But soon the place starts to live up to its name. Broody co-worker Em (Kristen Stewart) catches James' eye, and Lisa P. (Margarita Levieva), the sexiest employee at the park, starts eyeing him. But Em may be preoccupied with someone else, and the life questions that James has been avoiding -- Is his father drinking? Where can he go now that he's done with college? -- are nipping at his heels.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (12):
Kids say (26):

At first, ADVENTURELAND seems cut from the same cloth as director Greg Mottola's Superbad: crude, irreverent, raunchy, nerd-celebratory, and driven by male hormones. And it is all that, to a certain degree. But where Superbad had a heart hidden at its core, Adventureland wears its heart on its sleeve. For all its hipster cred (the Lou Reed- and David Bowie-peppered retro/alt rock soundtrack clues viewers in fairly quickly), Adventureland is primarily a romance. Circumstances are complex, families don't always have the answer, the best friendships can sting, and love strangely trumps most.

James, played skillfully by Eisenberg, is a lot like Say Anything's Lloyd Dobler: sweet, earnest, and not altogether together. He longs to be in love, and though that may rate him a loser in some circles, he's not one here. Unfortunately, Stewart's Em is no Diane Court. Stewart (who filmed this movie pre-Twilight) is adept and believable as her character, but in failing to add layers to her performance, she risks turning Em in to an "edgy, complex girl" stereotype. And why would James be smitten with anything typical? (Plus, their chemistry isn't exactly sizzling.) Ditto Ryan Reynolds as a married maintenance worker who seems to forget that he's supposed to be older -- and act older -- than the college kids he works with every summer. Still, there's plenty in here to enjoy. Though the film won't likely have Say Anything's staying power, it's a decent, entertaining imitator.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the movie's messages about sex and relationships. How do the characters' attitudes about sex compare to those of other "hard-R" teen comedies? Do they seem realistic to you? Why or why not?

  • What do you think of James' decision to remain a virgin until he meets the "right" woman? What does "right" mean? Why is he portrayed as being so different from his male peers?

  • Families can also discuss the characters' drinking and drug use. What are the consequences in real life?

Movie Details

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